Automatic stove or the like



J. M. MERRITT.

AUTOMATIC STOVE OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILEDDEC. 13, 1920 T SQ MMW Patented 00a 18, 1921' 2 SHEETSSHEET1.'

I nl

J. M. MERRITT.

AUTOMATIC STOVE OR THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. I3, 1920. LSQQEAQZL Patented Oct 18, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JAMES M. i/innarcrr, or Lee anenrns; cetiroanra, ASSIGNOR OF FORTY-Q1\TE cnnr. Too. 5. JAQUES, or sen raanoisco, cartrronma.

AU'1.OllL-ZJIIC STOVE OR THE incense;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18. 192i.

Application filed December 13, 1920. Serial No. $30,208.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES M. Mnnnrrr, a

citizen of the United States, residing in Los- Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful ments in automatic stoves, or the like, and has for an ob ect the provislon of a. simple,--

effective, reliable and easily accessible and adjustable mechanism of this character.

The invention relates particularly to antomatic, or time controlled,'cook stoves such as gas stoves or ranges, although it is not specifically limited to any particular design or type of stove or necessarily limited to a gas stove or range. In the present disclosure '1 am setting forth the invention as embodied in a typical gas range it being understood, of course, that such disclosure is for purpose of illustration and to facilitate a clear and accurate understanding of the invention.

In practice it has been found that automatic stoves as heretofore proposed have possessed certain features and characteristics whichv -make them more or less 1mpract1cal and undesirable for. use. It has been found that these devices are very difiicult to adjust, that they are not accurate and reliable, that they are rather complicated and expensive of construction, that they are not. conveniently accessible for purpose of repairs and adjustments, etc.

It is a general object of the present invention to overcome undesirable features such as those just outlined and to provide a neat,

, matic'stove.

practical and By overcoming these undesirable features without sacrifice of operation or utility the present invention provides a device superior to those heretofore provided and is therefore of particular practical and commercial value.

p .A distinctive feature of the invention is the construction and arrangement which makes the various parts of the control device easily and quickly accessible for purpose of.

adjustment and repairs. In practice it some times occurs that repairs or ad ustment are necessary and that it is very important to b N b6If18 o'f-the stove structurebehind a panel make such repairs and adjustments. quickly.

With the construction provided by this invention all ordinary repairs and adjustments commercially valuable autooperating the stove and do not require the attention of a skilled mechanic or expert.

The various objects and features of the invention will be best and more fully understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention throughout which reference is had to the in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view taken as indicated by line 6--6 on Fig. 5; Fig. 7 1s a sectional view taken as indicated by line 7-7 on Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a part of thecontrol mechanism; and Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the main lever of the control mechanism. Throughout the drawings numeral 10 des- 1gnatesa typical gas cook range comprising, generally, an oven 11, 'a broiler 12 arranged below the oven 11, a plurality of open burner devices 13arranged to one side of the broiler and oven, and the automatic control mechanism 14 provided by the present invention, all of which parts are arranged on and connected by a frame to form a unitary structure supported on suitable legs 15. The automatic control mechanism 14, provided by the present invention, may be arranged to control any one or several of the parts of the stove, for instance, as shown in the present disclosure it may be arranged to control the oven 11 or to control the stop valve 16 arranged in the pipe17 which supplies the burner 17 of the oven 11. It will be understood, of course, that such specific arrangement is for purpose of illustration and is not intended to limit the scope-of the invention in any way.-

The automatic control. mechanism 14L proyidedby the present invention is arranged andmounted so that its principal Working parts, et'c.', are supported on aframe mem- 23. Themainworking parts of the mechadial 30' is connected with by a connecting rod 54. A roller 37 is cartween the 40 lever longitudinally,

60 cated by the arrow 65 nism is in operating A frame plate20 ext-ends upwardly from base 24 back of the panel 23 and carries a 5 an opening 27 in the frame plate 20, through a round opening 28 in the panel 23, and through an opening 29 in a dial plate 30 arranged at the outer side of the panel 23. The panel 23 is preferably enameled and the is preferably held in place by screws 95 extending through'spacers 96 and screwthreaded into the frame plate 20. The main lever 30 of the mechanism, which cooperates withthe projection 45 on plate 43 to form a 1 catch mechanism, is fulcrumed at 31 onan' arm 32 and is arranged to extend between the clock mechanism 21 and the frame plate 20 below the spindle 26. The arm 32 is mounted on a shaft 35 which is carried by a bracket v .-20 36 extending from the base 24 and which extends through the panel 23 andcarries a hand lever 7 O on its outer end. An arm 52 is 'mounted on the inner'end of the shaft 35 and the lever 53 of the valve 16 -r1ed on a pin 38 at the outer end of the arm 32 to engage a notch 39 in the lever 30. The outer'end of the lever 30, as I will hereinafter term that end of the lever which extends beplate 20 and clock mechanism 21, is guided by a guide bracket 40 mounted on the frame 20 while the opposite,or inner end, of the lever is connected with the base 24 by a tension spring 41. From inspection of the 35 drawing,,and particularly of Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the lever 30 is so shaped,arranged and supported that the spring 41 tends at all times to move the outer end of the lever upwardly and to move the as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Plate 43 which is formed with a slot 44 and a projection 45 is mounted on the outer ace of the frame plate 20 by means of a pin 45 46 and a screw 46 so that the projection 45 extends through the opening 27 in the frame 20 and into an. opening 47 in the lever 30. The opening 47 in the lever 30 comprises a longitudinal slot portion 48 at the inner end 50 of which there is a notch portion 49. The

projection 45 cotiperates with the opening 47, in the lever 30, to hold the outer end portion of the lever against upward movement and thereby causes the' notched portion of the lever to be held in pressure engagement with the roller 37 on arm 32. When the projection 45 is in the slot portion of the opening 47 the lever 30 is free to be moved longitudinally by the spring 41 in the direction indiin F ig. 2 and when it is in the notched portion of the opening the lever is positively held in the position shown in Fig. 2. Vhen the lever is in the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings the mechaposition with the valve holds the lever 30 in 16 open, while when it is in the released position as shown in dotted lines in Fig 5 the mechanism is out of operation and the valve 16 is closed. The plate 43 by being slotted and connected to the frame plate 20 by a pin 46 and the bolt 46 is capable of adjustment so that the lever 30 may be held in different positions bythe projection 45. Further, the various parts are arranged and proportioned so that the. bolt 46 is opposite the opening 28 in the panel 23,as shown in the drawings.

When the parts are arrangedfas shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the projection 45is seated in the notched ing 47 and the valve 16 is open. An arm or cam 50 on the spindle 26 of the clock 1nechaportion 49 ofthe opennism 21 is arranged to rotate into engage- .41 to act upon or move the lever 30 longitudlnally in the direction indi cated by the arrow in Fig. 2. Such movement-of the lever 30 causes rotation of the shaft 35 due to the roller '37 being engaged by the end of the notch 39. This rotation of the shaft 35- moves the lever arm 52 and thereby. causes closing of the r ply pipe 17 through the operating lever 53 of? will be readily understood howtl e splate 43 can be adjusted, so

a position. where itwill be actuated by the cam50 to bring the slot portion 48 opposite the projection- 45 upon the spindle 26 reaching a'predetermined. po-

sition. Ordinarily the plate43canbe satisfactorily adjusted by loosening thelf crew'46 and then moving the lever to a '.positionwhere the notched portion of the opening 47 is opposite the projection 45 thusallowing the projection 45 to drop into and completely seat in the notched portion. If. the screw 46 is then properly tightened to hold the plate the lever will besecurely and properly held by the projection until it has been engaged and moved by the cam 50.

The dial 30*, mounted on theoutside of the panel 23, is provided with suitable markings or graduations, as shown in Fig; 3. A hand 60 is adjustably clamped on the spin-- dle 26 by screw 61 and is set to point to the zero mark on the dial when the spindle 26 is in position where the lever 30 is released to move longitudinally in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig.2. The mark- Where the arm 30 is released, so that the valve 16 in the evensup;v j the valve 16 and the connecting rod 54. It

that the'fpro'jection 45 I i mechanism will remain in the on position as shown in Fig. 1a predetermined length to indicate the position of the spindle relative to the released position, or will indicate how many minutes itwill take for the spindle to move from the 'set position to the position where the mechanism is released. For instance, if it is desired that the mechanism should remain in the on position, shown in Fig. 2, for twenty minutes the knob 62 may be rotated to bring the hand opposite the graduation 20 whereupon the clock mechanism will immediately begin to rotate the shaft and therefore the knob, the hand, and the cam in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig 3, and will continue to rotate the spindle for 20 minutes before it reachesthe position where. the lever 30 is released. To turn the stove on, and set the automatic control or cut-off mechanism, the time mechanism is set in the manner just described and the lever 30 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 by turning of the hand lever 70. It will be obvious how the lever can be turned to throw the lever 30' longitudinally in the direction opposite to that indicated by the. arrow in Fig. 2 until the notched portion 49 of the opening 47 is opposite and in cooperation with the projection 45. I

With the connection between the arm 32 and the lever 30 efiected by a roller and slot construction, as hereinabove described it is possible to turn off, or, regulate the stove or oven by suitable manipulation of the hand lever 7 O at any time before the clock mechanism has rotated the spindle 26 to a position where the lever 30 will be released. For in- Stance, the handle 70 may be turned at any time causing the roller 37 to pass through the notch 39 and cause rotation ofthe shaft 35 and thereby manipulation or turning of the valve 16.

"With the construction provided by the present invention the mechanism may be easily, quickly and accurately adjusted to release at the proper time eitherby adjusting the position of the hand 60 on the spindle 26 or by adjusting" the position of the plate 43, or by both. Adjustment of the hand 60 may be very easily and quickly made by simply releasing the clamping screw 61 and turning the hand to the desired position and then tightening the clamp screw 61. To adjust the plate 43 it is merely necessary to remove the knob 62 and hand 60 from the spindle 26 whereupon the dial 30 can be removed by releasement of the screws 95. With the dial 3O removed the plate 43 can be easily and quickly adjusted by suitable manipulation of the bolt 46. All adjustments of the mechanism may be readily made from the front of the range and can be made without the aid ofspecial tools of any kind. In practice the mechanism can be very accurately, easily and quickly adjusted in the following manner:

First remove the knob, the hand and the dial whereupon the plate 43 can be loosened to be free to move, throw the hand lever 70 until the projection engages and seats in the notched portion of the opening 47, tighten the screw 46, replace the removed parts leaving the hand loose on the spindle, rotate the spindle by the knob until the lever 30 is released, and then set the hand to zero thus completing the adjustment. The range can then be operated reliably and accurately I without further attention or adjustment.

If for any reason it is found that the mechanism does not trip accurately, say for instance, if the mechanism trips slow or fast, suitable adjustment may be made in the position of the hand. It will be obvious how the present invention permits of quick simple and accurate adjustment and how it provides an extremely simple and inexpensive structure. From inspection of the drawings it will be noted that the invention provides a neat, sightly, and simple mechanism and it will be understood how the mechanism provided by the invention is reliable and effective in operation. The extreme simplicity of construction and arrangement assures reliable and accurate operation. For instance, the connection between the arm 32 and lever 30 being made by a roller and slot prevents binding or sticking of that connection and assures smooth operation.

It will be particularly noted that the in vention arranges the clock mechanism, frame plate 20, bracket 35, lever 30, etc.. on a single base 24 so that these parts can be totally and completely moved from the range as a unit in the event that it becomes necessary to make important repairs on them. In practice, this unitary structure can be easily and quickly removed by simply. releasing the connecting rod 52 and the bolts 25 and by removing the handle 70, the knob 62 and the hand 60.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a cook stove having a panel part and embodying a burner and a control valve for the burner, automatic time control mechanism for the valve comprising an adjustable catch mechanism arranged back of the panel to be adjustable from the front of the panel,

through the opening, and'a clock mechanism arranged back ofthe panel adapted to release the catch mechanism.

3'. In a cook stove, having a panel part and embodying a burner and a control valve for the burner, automatic time control mechanism for the valve comprising a catch mechanism arranged back of the panel, a clock mechanism arranged back of the panel and adapted to release the catch mechanism, and anadjustable indicating device atthe front of the panel.

4. In a cook stove, having a panel part and embodying a burner and a control valve for the-burner, automatic time control mechanism for the valve, comprising a catch mechanism arranged back of the panel, a clock mechanism arranged back of the panel and adapted to release the catch mechanism, and an indicating device for the clock mechanism adjustable from the front of the panel independently of the clock mechanism.

5. In a cook stove having a panel part and embodying a burner anda control valve forthe burner, automatic time control mechanism for the valve, comprising an adjustable catch mechanism arranged back of the panel to be adjustablefrom the front of the panel, a clock mechanism arranged back of the panel and adapted to release the catch mechanism, and an adjustable indicating device for the clock mechanism mounted on'the front of the panel.

6. In a cook stove having a panel part with an openingand embodying a burner and a control valve for the burner, automatic time control mechanism for the valve comprising an adjustable catch mechanism arranged back of. the panel to be adjustable through the opening, a clock mechanism for releasing the catch mechanism arranged back of the panel, and an adjustable indicating device for the clock mechanism removably arranged at the front of the panel, said device including a dial forming a closure'for the opening. a

7. Ina cook stove having a panel part and embodying a burner and a control valve for the burner, automatic control mechanism for the valve comprising an adjustable catch mechanism arranged back of the'panel, a

clock mechanism adapted to release the control mechanism for the valve compris ing an adjustable catch mechanism arranged back of the panel to be adjustable through the opening, a clock mechanism arranged back of the panel for releasing the catch mechanism, and an indicating device for the clock removably arranged at the front of-the panel, said device including a,

dial forming a closure for the opening.

9, In'a time control mechanism, an adjustable catch device comprising a lever having an opening, an adjustable member having a pro ection adapted to cooperate with the opening, and releasable means for setting said member in fixed position;

10. In a time control mechanism, a catch device comprising a lever having a notch, a support for the lever comprising a roller adapted to'engage the notch, and means for holding the lever and support in cooperative engagement.

ll. In a time control mechani'sm,'a catch device comprising a lever having a notch, a

-support for the lever-comprising a roller' adapted to engage the notch, and means for yieldingly holding the. lever and support in cooperative engagement, 0

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 6th day of December, 1920.

v JAMES'M. MERRITIY Witness VIRGINIA BERINGER. 

